Things I've learned

My mission President has a son who recently got back from his mission.
my mission presidents wife told me that in their son´s  last letter he only said “see you
soon”.  I thought it was pretty funny but I also thought that you
would kill me so I decided to go in another direction.

A lot of things have happened on my mission (and this week too):

Last Monday celebrating the marriage ceremony of Patricio and Mariela-
I learned how to machete old crates to make a bonfire to cook a
ridiculous amount of asado, and how to be a make-up artist with their
little kids for the after party. And this Saturday in his baptism I
was able to see the atonement work miracles and bless their family.

This week we also had the baptism of an hermana that wasn´t listed in
the churches records, and had been inactive for years.  We got to see
her remember the importance of the góspel and the love our Savior has
for her even when she feels alone.

I´ve seen people humble themselves to put God´s will before their own
.  A really great family that we are teaching didn´t go to church last
week- because they (and basically the whole town) didn´t have water
and didn´t want to go to church without showering.  When we told them that we
went anyways and testified of the Sabbath day and it's importance- they felt the spirit.
And this Sunday when there wasn´t wáter again they went anyways.

I´ve developed a love-hate relationship with mangos because we were
given a garbage bag full. And we keep receiving more every day.  (And
I've learned how to use a blender really well)

I learned how to speak Spanish.  And speak English a little bit worse.

I learned the importance of the sacrament, and how it can take away a
bad week and give us a fresh start.

I´ve learned how to smile for hours without having your face hurt.

I´ve learned the importance of health and safety codes.

I´ve seen people pull an Alma the younger, completely changing their
desires and actions and the light that it brings to their eyes.

I learned that the sister from Troll 2 is in a really cheesy New
Testament seminary video!

I´ve seen the góspel bring hope to families, and give them a reason to
keep pressing forward.

I´ve learned to love the scriptures.  They make me cry, sometimes
laugh, and help me to feel the love of our Lord.  I can honestly say
that I feel like I am that much closer to Him by reading His words.

I learned the importance of not just living the góspel for obedience,
but with real intent and a pure love for God.

I love my Savior, I know that He lives.

I know that I was sent here for a reason, and could feel it in every
visit, street contact, sacrament meeting, baptism, study time- every
single moment that I had the privilege to spend in Argentina.

I will never forget what I felt- or how I´ve grown.

I love you so much, and I hope that everything is well because
everything is perfect here.

two and a half weeks

This week I felt more like the Savior.  We learned a little bit of
carpintery!  We have an investigator that wants to be baptized but her
parents won´t give her permission.  So, we helped them with their
house expansion.  Then we taught them doctrine.  But they have some
sort of spirit repellent so…. We´re still working on that.

Mary had a Little lamb bécame a reality this week.  Sort of.  It was
actually Maria had a huge dog.  And instead of following her to school
it followed her to church and entered while we were taking the
sacrament.

We´ve been without wáter a good part of the week, and not being able
to shower I´ve actually had a little bit of free time!  I was able to
write a little bit in my journal.

I was in a small reunión with my misión president going over the
statistics from the last transfer in our zone- and my president made a
back to the future reference.  It was probably one of the most
subtlest, greatest things I´ve ever heard.

I´ve been fighting with bugs a lot lately.  I put on one of my skirts,
and a few moments later a palm sized spider crawled down my leg!  I´ve
swallowed 2 mosquitos, and one landed in my eye while we were talking
to a few people in the street and I felt like a pirate contacting thim
with my hand over my eye trying to act like nothing was happening
untill we said goodbye and my companion helped me get it out.  And
during a really spiritual lesson a couple of little bettles crawled
down the back, and front of my shirt.  It was a little bit hard to
concentrate after that- but we were able finish strong before we left
their house and removed them.  Those are only a couple of little
things that I´m not going to miss.

I had to give my last testimony a 3 times in different zone and
leadership trainings.  I thought maybe I´d start to feel sad and it
would hit me, but no.  I feel the same as always.  It´s great!

THIS MORNING WE WENT TO THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF PATRICIO Y
MARIELA!!!!!!  It was the best thing ever.  To see a happy family
starting their way to having an eternal family.
Even though it was one of the happiest moments- it was a little bit
sad because their family wasn´t there to support them.  Patricio made
a lot of really big mistakes in the past and almost lost his family a
few times.  His inlaws aren´t supporting thier decisión to be togather
and didn´t go to the wedding.

It´s really sad when people don´t trust in the atonement enough to
believe that people can change.  And it´s only that much harder when
the whole family isn´t working togather to help their loved one.  We
can´t deny the godly potential of everyone walking on the earth in
this moment.  People who need a reason, and the help to change.
I´m so grateful to have been able to see the atonement work MIRACLES
with people, especialy families.  Even when it´s really, really,
really hard and it doesn´t look like there is hope.
Hermana Shumway

Christmas party

Christmas Party and first look at her newest companion

Hermana John Wayne

In Preach My Gospel there´s this really cute story about a taxi
driver.  That as the missionaries are walking home after a really long
day a cabist takes them for free and ends up getting baptized and
going to the temple with his whole family.  I think they put it there
to inspire every missionary that they too can have a marvelous
experience such as that.

All of my taxi driver stories have just ended up being creepy.  But I
haven´t lost my faith.

More people should sell figs.  I didn´t even know what a fig was like
apart from fig newtons! (But I´m pretty sure that that doesn´t
actually count)

My companion washed a turtle this week to be servicial.

Being Hermana leader over my old area, I´m always in contact with the
Hermanas that are there right now. On Sunday they told me that my
convert Nehemías bore his testimony in sacrament meeting- it made me
cry a little bit.  I´ve been so worried because since I´ve left the
other Hermanas haven´t been finding him.  It´s a great comfort to know
that the Good Shepard is always working infinitely harder than us.

This week we have a wedding! And a baptism!  AND WE´RE COMPLETING A
FAMILY!!!!!!!!!

We are always reminding them that they have to have their family
prayer.  So they made a prayer schedule.  One for everyday of the
week- and because there are only 6 of them- they´ve included us too!
Every Saturday because we lunch with them, and we do feel like part of
their family.

They have a hard time remembering how to pronounce my name.  So now
thay just call me Hermana John Wayne, because in their accent it
actually does sound like Shumway.  (In my second area there was a guy
that we always talked to in the street that called me that too!)

 The father (who is the one going to be baptized) used to smoke a lot.
Even though it´s been about a month since he´s quit, he had a really
bad day this last week and tried to smoke.  But as soon as his kids
saw him trying to lite up they began to toss water on him from the
kiddie pool.  All his little kids are really excited to help since we
held a family council with them started Operation: "Basta de Fumata".
(stop smoking)

We literally scared them when we taught the penalties of sin- and they
have composed a song to remind them to not break the law of chastity.
It´s to the tune of jingle bells.  There´s a really nice verse verse
describing how we are going to be verifying with them all the time. I
love being an insistent missionary.

Yesterday we accidentally locked our house keys in- and we started
freaking out.  I was thinking that we were going to have to call a
locksmith from a big and far away town.  We went to go ask our land
lord what to do- and he just told us that we had to find a little kid
to break in.  We have barred windows, but luckily the slots were big
enough for a 4 year-old.  I love Argentina.  I also have some really
funny cop stories, but those will have to wait.

A different family that we are teaching are really progressing.
They´ve started to give us a million references, all their extended
family members.  They´ve invited us to go to their next family
reunion.

One of the biggest fruits of repentance and using the atonement are
our desires to share the gospel.  And we don´t even need to understand
or live the gospel for a long time to be able to do it.  We can go to
church 1 time and recognize the importance.

Our sacrament assistance has jumped from the beginning of my time here
of 30 to about 60.  I´ve seen the Lord work so many miracles- and
we´re just about to baptize 2 men who can be priesthood holders.
Looks like we might get an elders quorum president!  And one of them
is named Julio Cesar (Julius Ceaser)  He has really great leadership
potential.  Haha.

I love you.